Your Seat at the Ballpark

With all four of my sons home from school for the summer, I must be in a nostalgic mood. Our recent “Farmers Market Edition” reminded me of their childhood garden “broccoli wars” and this week’s “Tarp Skunks Edition” takes me back to many, many Northside nights at the ballfield.

We lived on Hotchkiss Street — pretty much a baseball’s throw from Chautauqua County’s historic Diethrick Park in Jamestown. We never had extra cash (still don’t!) so I always looked for the bargain nights, especially the $1 hot dog games. When the boys were very little, they ran around the stadium hunting down Bubba Grape, the purple ape, for a hug. As they grew, they ran around the stadium shagging fly balls and playing hide-n-go-seek with their friends. We never missed a fireworks night. We owned about 25 prize Jammers hats. And we loved every minute of our hometown team.

Did I mention they ran? The unruly Cornell boys. But when we sat for a moment, to take in our team and the breathtaking sunsets across the outfield, it was always on the third base line bleachers, right around the second section toward the bottom rows. I don’t know why. It was like a routinized church pew. That was just our place.

Now when I attend Tarp Skunks games, the sights and sounds may be different for me, but they’re as strong as ever with General Manager Christian Dolce leading our winning team and inspiring the next generation of Whiffy fans. He continues to build the promising program for a future that’s as exciting as Jamestown’s legacy baseball past. Go Christian and Go Skunks!

For young and old alike, north county and south county the same, the Tarp Skunks are where it’s at this summer. Take time to support our hometown team. Find your seat at Jamestown’s quintessential park.

It’s just our place.